Demographic predictors of central sensitization in patients of knee osteoarthritis.

Context: Evidence suggests that central sensitization (CS) may contribute to pain in osteoarthritis (OA) knee patients, which cannot be treated by locally directed treatment strategies. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine differences in demographic profile of patients with and without central sensitization in osteoarthritis knee. Settings and Design: Observational cross-sectional study at tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital in 345 OA knee patients. Demographic profiles including age, gender, education, occupations, type of family, marital and socioeconomic status and central sensitization were assessed. The association between CS and various demographic parameters was investigated. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, IBM manufacturer, Chicago, USA, version 21.0. For statistical significance, P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Ninety out of 345 (26%) of study subjects had CS; out of which 96% were females. Younger homemaker and those with unskilled/semiskilled type of job had higher chances of having CS in comparison with those with skilled and professional job (P < .001). Conclusions: Elicitation of specific demographic factors that can predict CS in people with knee OA may help in early identification and management of CS in OA knee patients.

Study of Relationship between Bone Mineral Density in Ipsilateral Proximal Femur and Severity of Osteoarthritis of Knee.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the most common rheumatic disease that is characterized by degradation of articular cartilage, subchondral bone alteration, meniscal degeneration, synovial inflammatory response, and overgrowth of bone and cartilage. In severe OA, the reduced mobility caused by pain can increase bone loss and reduction of bone mineral density leading to osteoporosis. Objective: To examine the possible relationship between severity of osteoarthritis (OA) and bone mineral density (BMD) by evaluating the bone mineral density in ipsilateral proximal femur and radiographic grading of knee OA in the Indian population. Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, 100 subjects diagnosed with OA knee using ACR criteria were enrolled. Severity of OA knee was assessed using Kellgren-Lawrence scale (1 to 4) on weight-bearing radiographs. The BMD, T-score, and Z-score of the ipsilateral proximal femur was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to test the association of severity of OA knee with BMD. Results: Among 100 subjects, there were 51 females and 49 males with mean age 59.94 ± 6.67. Maximum patients were with K-L grade 2 (42%) followed by grade 3 (30%) and grade 4 (22%). There was statistically significant (p < 0.0001) association between BMD and severity of OA knee. BMD decreased as the K-L grade of OA knee increased from 1 to 4. Similar statistically significant association was observed in T-score and Z-score. Conclusion: The study concluded that BMD of ipsilateral proximal femur decreases with severity of OA knee. These data support the fact that the two conditions may be related to each other and primary care physicians must look for these two conditions in coexistence. Primary prevention of either of the two conditions should be advised, if the other condition coexists in the same patient.

An Investigator-Initiated, Prospective, Single-Center, Open-Label Clinical Study to Evaluate Safety and Performance of Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid (IA-HA) (Biovisc Ortho) in Patients with Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Knee.

OBJECTIVE: IA-HA is injected into the osteoarthritis knee as a viscosupplementation for therapeutic purposes. This clinical trial was carried out for evaluating the efficacy and safety of Biovisc Ortho IA-HA (20 mg/2 mL) in a 2 mL prefilled syringe. DESIGN: The study was conducted as an open-label, single-center, single-arm clinical trial in India. Patients of knee OA with moderate to severe symptoms for a minimum duration of 3 months were included in the study. Five visits were conducted at weekly intervals and the investigational product was administered at each visit. Two follow-up visits were conducted at 3 and 6 months after the completion of the last injection cycle. The primary outcome variable was change in KOOS pain score from baseline. The secondary outcome variables were analyzed for other KOOS scales and safety of the device. RESULTS: Change in KOOS pain score at 6 months from baseline was 29.71±15.74 and the change in mean KOOS score for pain was statistically significant (p<0.0001) for all post-baseline visits. Statistically significant improvement was observed for mean values of efficacy assessments (KOOS) during the study period (6 months) for all the domains evaluated, including pain, joint function and quality of life. CONCLUSION: Despite being an open, noncomparative study, the safety and efficacy results of IA-HA establish the therapeutic effect of the treatment throughout the study period of 6 months and are safe.

Efficacy of Intralesional Platelet-Rich Plasma in Diabetic Foot Ulcer.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is well managed by infection control, euglycemic state, and debridement of the ulcer followed by appropriate dressing and off-loading of the foot. Studies show that approximately 90% of DFUs that are properly off-loaded heal in nearly 6 weeks. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) serves as a growth factor agonist and has mitogenic and chemotactic properties that help in DFU healing. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of local application of PRP with respect to healing rate and ulcer area reduction in treating DFUs. METHODS: Sixty noninfected patients with DFUs (plantar surface area, ≤20 cm2; Meggitt-Wagner grades 1 and 2) were randomized to receive normal saline dressing (control group [CG]) or PRP dressing (study group [SG]) along with total-contact casting for 6 weeks or until complete ulcer healing, whichever was earlier. Healing rate and change in ulcer area were evaluated weekly. RESULTS: Mean ± SD ulcer area at baseline was 4.96 ± 2.89 cm2 (CG) and 5.22 ± 3.82 cm2 (SG) (P = .77), decreasing to 1.15 ± 1.35 cm2 (CG) and 0.96 ± 1.53 cm2 (SG) (P = .432) at 6 weeks. Mean ± SD percentage reduction in healing area at 6 weeks was 81.72% ± 17.2% (CG) and 85.98% ± 13.42% (SG) (P = .29). Mean ± SD healing rate at 6 weeks was 0.64 ± 0.36 cm2 (CG) and 0.71 ± 0.46 cm2 (SG) (P = .734). CONCLUSIONS: The PRP dressing is no more efficacious than normal saline dressing in the management of DFU in conjunction with total-contact casting.